By Christine Byers, St. Louis Post-Dispatch CLAYTON, Mo. — The grand jury considering whether Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson should be criminally charged in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown now has until Jan. 7 to decide. The extension of the grand jurors’ term of duty does not necessarily mean the job will […]

By Tim Flach, The State (Columbia, S.C.) LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Timothy Jones Jr. waived his initial appearance in court Friday after being served with warrants charging him with killing his five children and dumping their bodies in rural Alabama. One of his attorneys, Boyd Young, announced the decision at Lexington County bond court at […]

By Mark Seibel, McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — A federal judge agreed Thursday that the Pentagon does not have to reveal how much was paid to build the crumbling, secret Camp 7 at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, rejecting a Miami Herald bid to make the number public. U.S. District Judge Berryl Howell in Washington, […]

By Kurtis Lee, Los Angeles Times In a ruling that could have reverberations around the country, a federal judge on Thursday struck down an Ohio law that bars individuals from knowingly making false statements about political candidates. The decision from District Court Judge Timothy Black follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in June that […]

By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times SAN DIEGO — SeaWorld has decided it will not seek to overturn a court ruling that has kept its trainers from getting into the water with the parks’ killer whales. The company’s decision not to appeal the orca ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court was found in a filing […]

By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times President Obama’s health care law was dealt a new blow Tuesday as a federal appeals court ruled that due to a wording glitch in the Affordable Care Act, some low- and middle-income residents are not entitled to receive government assistance to subsidize their insurance. In a 2-1 vote, […]

By Maura Dolan and Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times SAN FRANCISCO — In an indictment of California’s death penalty, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that decades-long delays and uncertainty about whether condemned inmates will ever be executed violate the constitution’s ban on cruel or unusual punishment. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney, […]

New York (AFP) – Lawyers for Aaron Hernandez on Monday urged a judge to dismiss the murder charge against the ex-NFL star in the killing of Odin Lloyd for lack of evidence, the Boston Globe reported. In a pre-trial hearing before Judge E. Susan Garsh in Fall River, Massachusetts, attorney James Sultan said the case […]

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that key job protections for teachers in California are unconstitutional, in a major loss for unions. The verdict represents a complete victory by attorneys who argued that state laws governing teacher layoffs, tenure and dismissals harm students by […]

By Timothy M. Phelps, Tribune Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is facing a liberal revolt in the Senate over two high-priority judicial nominations, potentially jeopardizing its push to shape the federal judiciary in advance of the midterm congressional election. The disputes, which involve hot-button issues including abortion, the Confederate flag and drones, could come […]

Washington (AFP) – A U.S. court has blocked a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing from buying Russian-made rocket engines, after private rocket operator SpaceX filed a lawsuit protesting the contract. The preliminary injunction against the deal between the U.S. Air Force and United Launch Systems was issued late Wednesday by Judge Susan Braden […]

By Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press DETROIT — The fate of Michigan’s gay-marriage ban is officially in the hands of a federal judge, who on Tuesday heard opening statements in a case that will decide what marriage means in Michigan, and whether voters have a right to exclude gays and lesbians from forming that union […]

February 25, 2014

Know First. Smart politics and smart living delivered to your inbox every morning.